Typographical casting machines



May 22, 1956 ROSSETTO TYPOGRAPHICAL CASTING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 2, 1950 INVENTOR $2 a W Wrrawe m May 22, 1956 L. ROSSETTO TYPOGRAPHICAL CASTING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 2, 1950 ATTO E75 HIGHEST POINT OF RISE WITH NORMAL LINE OF MATRICES United States Patent TYPOGRAPHICAL CASTING MACHINES Louis Rossetto, Flushing, N. Y., assignor to Mergenthaler Linotype Company, a corporation of N ew York Application September 2, 1950, Serial No. 183,032

3 Claims. (Cl. 199-53) This invention relates to typographical casting machines, suchasLinotype machines of. the general organi- V pot moved forwardly into contact with the mold, and a.

pump plunger operated to force molten metal from the melting pot into the mold to form a. slug or. type bar.

In these machines, the molten metal is forced into the mold under considerable pressure and it is, therefore, extremely important that the line be fully expanded between the vise jaws,that themold be fully advanced against the composed line, and that the mouthpiece of the melting pot be fully advanced against the back of the mold, in order to insure a tight seal to confine the molten metal to the mold. If the above conditions are not fully satisfied to establish the proper seal of the mold, the molten metal will be forced underpressure through any openings or crevices and cause what is known in the trade as a squirt.

Ordinarily, the pump plunger is locked against operation by a pump stop which is released by the yielding of the right hand jaw or a section thereof when the composed line is properly expanded by the justification bar. Generally speaking, this safety feature has operated satisfactorily to overcome the principal cause of squirts, but

it has failed to provide absolute. insurance against them. For example, occasionally, due to misalignmentiof one of the matrices, s'uflicient pressure would be brought-to bear against the jaws to release the safety stop even though the. line would be incapable of full expansion. Also, if the forward movement of the mold or of the pot wasobstructed or interfered with in'such a way as to:prevent proper contact between the mold and the-composed line or between the pot mouthpiece and the .mold, .the necessary seal would not be achieved even though the line might be fully expanded to release the safety-stop.

The present invention is intended to overcome all of these possibilities. More particularly, his directed to an electrical attachment to prevent the casting operation unless the spacebands contained in the line are capable of fully expanding the line between the jaws and sufiicient pressure is brought to bear against the vise'jaws, and unless the. mold'andthe. meltingpot: are: fully advanced. ln-other words, unless all-fouri of the above conditions are'satisfied, the casting-operation cannot take place.

I These and other'improvements-willbemore-fullvdescribed in the following specification and 1 attached drawings.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the Linotype machine with the present invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the casting parts; and

2,746,600 Patented May 22, 1956 Ice Fig. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating the operation of the present attachment.

Referring to the drawings, a composed line 1 of matrices and expansible spacebands is presented between a pair of vise jaws 2 2 which are pre-set for certain length lines. A small space, however, usually occurs between the left hand aw and the end matrix due to slight variations in the lines as ordinarily composed, but this or any other normal space in the line is intended to be filled out by the expansion of the spacebands during justification.

The justification is usually carried outin two stages, these justifying operations being effected by a pair of vertical rods 3 (only one of whichis shown in the drawings) and a horizontal bar 4 arranged to engagethe lower ends ofthe spacebands. In the first stage of justification, the driving bar 4 operatesin an inclined position with reference to the matrixline, while in the second stage of justification, the bar operates in a horizontal position. In order to accomplish this variable movement of the spaceband driving bar 4, the vertical rods 3 are independently operated by a pair of cam-controlled springoperated levers 5 (only one of which is shown in the drawings). The levers 5 are pivotally mounted on a rod 6 and are urged in an upward direction by springs 7 under restraint of cams 8, mounted on the main canr shaft 9 of the machine. Meanwhile, a mold 10, carried by a rotatable disk 13 (see Fig. 2), is moved forwardiy into contact with the composed line held between the vise jaws 2*, 2 and a melting pot 11, supported by legsv 12, is tilted forwardly to bring its mouthpiece 14 into Contact with the back of the mold.- The molten metal is then forced into the mold against the composed line by means of a pump plunger 16 connected to a spring: actuated camcontrolled bell crank lever 15. The more or less horizontally disposedarmlfS of the bell crank lever 15 is provided with a projection 15' (see Fig. 2) under which a pivoted stop 17 is normally adapted to rest.

As thus far described the parts and their mode of operation are or may be the same as in the commercial Linotype machines and constitute no part of the present invention.

According to the present invention, the pump plunger stop 17 is adapted to be operated by a solenoid 18 or equivalent electrical element, which when energized will draw the stop out of the path of descent of the projection 15 to permit the casting operation to take place. Of course, if the solenoid fails'to release the stop 17, the latter will engage the projection 15* and arrest the downward movement of the arm l5 to thereby preventv the operation of the pump plunger and, consequently, the casting operation.

The operation of the solenoid i8 is controlled by three micro-switchesin series therewith. One switch 19, a

fully advanced to its proper casting. position. This means that the mold will not only be moved into proper contact with the composed line. but,.in addition, that the pot mouthpiece 14 be moved into proper contact with the mold. Thus the switch 19 takes care of two of the conditions and will fail to'energize the solenoid 18 unless both conditions have" been satisfied.

Another switch 30, a normally closed switch, is lo cated: directly above. one or the justification levers 5'. Normally, the justification bar 4 will be driven upwardly at the proper time by the spring-actuated justification levers 5, acting through the rods 3, until the spacebands have been expanded sufiiciently to wedge the composed line tightly between the jaws 2 2 Ordinarily, therefore, the highest point of rise of the justification levers 5 will be somewhat below the trip for the switch 30 and, consequently, the switch will remain in closed condition in readiness to energize the solenoid 18. If, however, a particular line, due to the fact that it is too far short of the casting range, or that it does not contain a sufficient number of spacebands for full expansion of the line between the jaws, allows the justification lever 5 to rise abnormally high, the justification levcr will come into contact with the switch 30 and hold it open to prevent energization of the solenoid 18.

Finally, if the line has been sufficiently expanded during justification, it will cause the right hand vise jaw 2 or a section thereof, which is slidably mounted in the vise frame 23, to have a slight yielding movement to the right. The amount of this movement is ever so slight and is limited by a shoulder 24 banking against a stop plate 25. The movement is, however, sufficient to cause the jaw or section to contact a set screw 26 carried by a short pivoted lever 27 and rock said lever, against the tension of a spring 28, to close another, normally open, switch 29 to condition the circuit for the energization of the solenoid 13. Unless the switch 29 is closed in the manner indicated, it will be held open by the tension of the spring 28 which also holds the jaw or jaw section in its normal position to the left.

The operation of the parts will be entirely clear from the circuit diagram shown in Fig. 3, Where the power supply is indicated as 110 volts A. C. stepped down to 28 volts A. C. The stop 17 normally interferes with the downstrokc of the pump plunger 16 by engagement with the projection on the lever arm 15*. The energizetion of the solenoid 18 is adapted to pivot the stop 17 out of the path of the projection 15 to permit the casting operation. The switch 30 is normally closed to permit the energization of the solenoid 1.3 unless the justification bar rises abnormally high to open the contacts. As stated above, however, this condition will not occur unless the spacebands are unable to fully expand the line of matrices between the jaws 2*, 2 The switch 29 is normally open to prevent the encrgization of the solenoid 18 unless sufficient pressure is exerted against the jaws to cause the right hand jaw 2 to pivot the lever 27 against the tension of the spring 23 and close the contacts. Finally, the switch 19 is normally open to prevent the energization of the solenoid 18 unless the melting pot makes a full advace as permitted by proper contact between the mold and the composed line, as well as by proper contact between the pot mouthpiece and the mold. It should be clear, therefore, that the solenoid 18 will remain inoperative unless all three switches 30, 29 and 19 are closed at the same time, thus acting as a common means for releasing the pump plunger stop under control of those parts whose movements determine the opening and closing of the switches. When any one of the switches is open, an unsafe condition prevails and the casting operation cannot take place.

In the accompanying drawings, the invention has been shown in preferred form and by way of example but obviously many modifications and alterations may be made therein and in its mode of application without departing from the spirit of the invention. It should, therefore, be understood that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment, except insofar as such limitations are specified in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a typographical casting machine equipped with a pair of vise jaws for holding a composed line of matrices and expansible spacebands, a justification bar movable upwardly into engagement with the spacebands to expand them in justifying the line between the vise jaws, a mold movable forwardly into contact with the line, a melting pot movable forwardly into contact with the mold, a pump plunger for forcing molten metal from the pot into the mold, and a normally active stop for preventing the operation of the pump plunger, the combination therewith of an electrical element for releasing the pump plunger stop, a normally closed switch for energizing said electrical element and which is opened only by an abnormal upward movement of the justification bar, a normally open switch for also energizing said electrical element and which is closed only by a full normal forward movement of the melting pot, and a common electric circuit which includes said electrical element and the two said switches and which is activated only when both switches are closed simultaneously.

2. in a typographical casting machine equipped with a pair of vise jaws for holding a composed line of matrices and expansible spacebands, a justification bar movable upwardly into engagement with the spacebands to expand them in justifying the line between the vise jaws, one of said jaws being yieldable outwardly by such expansion of the spacebands, a mold movable forwardly into contact with the line, a melting pot movable forwardly into contact with the mold, a pump plunger for forcing molten metal from the pot into the mold, and a normally active stop for preventing the operation of the pump plunger, the combination therewith of an electrical element for releasing the pump plunger stop, a normally closed switch for energizing said electrical element and which is opened only by an abnormal upward movement of the justifica-' said jaws being yieldable outwardly by such expansion of the spacebands, a mold movable forwardly into contact with the line, a melting pot movable forwardly into contact with the mold, a pump plunger for forcing molten metal from the pot into the mold, and a normally active stop for preventing the operation of the pump plunger, the combination therewith of an electrical element for releasing the pump plunger stop, a normally closed switch for energizing said electrical element and which is opened only by an abnormal upward movement of the justification bar, a normally open switch for also energizing said electrical element and which is closed only by a full normal forward movement of the melting pot, a further normally open switch for likewise energizing said electrical element and which is closed only by a full outward yielding of the vise jaw, and a common electric circuit which includes said electrical element and the three said switches and which is activated only when all three switches are closed simultaneously.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 698,591 Veeder Apr. 29, 1902 959,961 Pearce et al. May 31, 1910 1,073,705 Petri-Palmedo Sept. 23, 1913 1,727,314 Sperry Sept. 3, 1929 1,970,566 Kleinschmidt Aug. 21, 1934 2,029,976 Wunsch Feb. 4, 1936 

